Celebrations
by hostilecrayon
Summary: New Year's Eve means a lot to a lot of people, but for us, it meant something else entirely. 1x2x1


Title: Celebrations

Author: hostilecrayon

Pairing: 1x2, implied 3x4

Rating: PG

Warnings: Fluff

Disclaimer: I own Gundam Wing as much as I do Japan. I may have some trinkets, but I can never have the real thing.

Notes: For LinkWorshiper! Happy birthday! This does take place on New Year's Eve, but technically, it's not a New Year's fic. Bear with me, all will be explained.

**Celebrations**

Another year, another party, another reminder of life before peace. New Year's Eve meant a lot of things to a lot of people, but for us, it was something else entirely.

We arrived on time and set about to mingle, greeting those who still considered us symbols of the peace even after all these years. Heero moved around on his own, and I let him, favoring the table set up for the pilots. Wufei, as usual, sat alone, his stern eyes tracking his wife as she moved across the room. Sally gave him a little glare each time she caught him, and when I joined him, she greeted me with an enthusiastic wave before returning to the politician currently giving her the third degree about Preventor regulations.

Trowa and Quatre were as inseparable as ever, and I watched with mild interest as Trowa patiently endured the business talks and stock inquiries his lover was currently engaged in. My eyes scanned the room for a mop of tangled brown hair, and I smiled when I spotted him exchanging polite conversation with the Queen of Peace and her husband. We had all been concerned about his real intentions when he had asked for Relena's hand in marriage, but in time, even the overprotective Heero had accepted him. He truly loved Relena for who she was, and he was also a great politician. They worked very well together, and it was nice to see her truly happy.

Wufei and I sat in comfortable silence for a while, each of us extending the proper greeting to those that approached us, but we didn't bother to wander the room as the others did. They had obligations that we did not; Heero being the Man Who Saved the World, Quatre being an ingenious businessman with several ties to politics, and Trowa to his lover and their now mutual Enterprise. I understood the importance of our presence, but I did not share the same need to reach out to the people as they did. I did my reaching through my actions as a Preventor Agent, and I think Wufei felt the same way. These political parties were important, but they held very little value to us personally.

A couple hours passed by before dinner was served, and I felt that strange connection as all of my former partners in crime returned to the table. Well, with the addition of one, though Sally was quite the welcome addition. Heero took the seat to my right, his arm deliberately brushing against mine as he sat; his gentle way of telling me he was there for me. There was a time when these parties really disturbed me, and though I'd long moved past the memories of things I would never forget, I still felt assured by his gentle reminder.

Quatre held up his glass and said, "To another year of our efforts paying off."

He smiled softly and I said, "I'll drink to that!" before downing my glass in its entirety.

Trowa chuckled softly as he set his half full champagne glass on the table. "You'd drink to anything, Duo."

"Damn straight," I grinned, and I caught Heero shaking his head in amusement in my peripheral vision.

"Maxwell, you're incorrigible," Wufei frowned, but the humorous gleam in his eyes betrayed his distain.

My humor died down a little as the food made its way to our table, and just like every year before, my mood turned reflective. "Fifteen years…" I muttered. "I can hardly believe it."

"We made it through okay," Heero stated simply, but we all understood the statement for what it was. None of us were meant to live through the first war, let alone the second. A lot of things could have left us all dead and no hope for peace in the foreseeable future. Even when we'd managed to survive twice, the political aspect of things could have turned ugly. We had Relena to thank for a lot of that. She'd managed to turn us from terrorists to war heroes. And then we had been luckier still. We didn't want for anything, and not one of us was lonely. Things had turned out better than our fifteen year old brains could have fathomed when we'd entered the heart of the war. We all had our issues, but we really did make it through okay.

I managed to snatch another glass of bubbly from a passing waitress, and I raised it in another toast. "To everlasting friendship and ties that go beyond space and time." I looked at Heero, and he smiled approvingly at me before taking a small sip of his drink.

Relena stood then to give a speech, and we listened with rapt attention as she spoke. They were words we'd heard in some form or another several times, but both the respect we had for her and the power of her words kept us listening each year. She inspired many with her delicately chosen words.

Heero and I left shortly afterwards. Relena was disappointed to see us leaving, but she understood that we had fulfilled our obligations and she let us go without much of a fight. She tried to convince us to stay until the ball dropped at midnight, but Heero and I had something else to celebrate before that happened, and though the night was coming to an end, we wanted to share what was left of our private holiday in the comfort of our home. It was something we wouldn't put off even for the Queen of Peace.

Heero drove the fifteen minutes back to our house in companionable silence. When we got there, he busied himself in the kitchen while I stood at the bay window, staring up at the stars. It didn't take long for him to come find me, his warm arms coming to rest on my stomach. I leaned back into him, and we just stood like that for a few moments, staring at the faint flicker of the colonies that had been our starting points.

His chin came to rest on my shoulder as he whispered, "Happy Birthday."

"Yeah, Happy Birthday, Heero." The day the wars had ended, we'd been born again. We'd been given a new life; a new start. It was something we cherished much more than the coming of the new year or even the celebration of the peace that we had played a major hand in obtaining. It was the ability to live in domestication that we treasured most.

"How does it feel to be fifteen again?" Obvious amusement tainted his voice, and I nuzzled further into his arms.

"Better than it feels to be thirty-one, that's for sure," I chuckled, getting a low laugh from Heero in response.

He kissed me then; a slow, lingering kiss that was filled with love. It was sweet and sentimental; not tainted with lusty overtones. Sometimes, kisses like these could be more intimate than the most sexual of gestures.

He grabbed my hand and began dragging me towards the kitchen. "Come on," he whispered with a smile, "There's cake."

"Vanilla?"

He grinned. "With strawberry filling. Your favorite."

We blew out the fifteen candles together and fed each other cake, bringing in another year of peace, love and new starts. It meant more to us than any party ever could have, and when the ball dropped, we were right where we wanted to be. Home.


End file.
